Beginning of August

Sparrowhawk (c) Bark

The weather has been flipping between very hot and cooler interludes and at times the moor and its wildlife has reflected the lassitude of the season. In the early mornings there is still plenty of activity in the Carpark-field and along the bridleway. 

Mixed parties of Tits and Warblers forage through the trees and bushes. All the while they make short sharp contact calls that tie the members of the flock loosely together and will make universally understood alarm calls should danger threaten. 

I see a family party of Bullfinches half-way along the bridleway almost every time I visit. They are feeding on the fresh seed heads of lettuce like plant and other weeds.

At the first screen the water levels are high and will remain so throughout the autumn, but at the second screen more mud is appearing all the time. One evening this week it attracted four passage Green Sandpipers and a Little-ringed Plover. Over the next month we can expect to see a number of passage waders calling in to refuel and rest up on their way back south. 

There are still a couple of adult Common Terns at the raft and they seem to have two well grown chicks, that look as though they are soon to take to the wing.

A Kingfisher was hunting from one of the willow bushes that is to the left of the first screen. They usually appear post breeding as there is nowhere that suits their nesting requirements actually on the reserve, we assume they nest further down the River Ray. There are many young and eclipse wildfowl loafing about in the shallow water. It is possible to find young Pochard, Shovellers and Gadwall amongst the commoner Mallards. There are still two or three Tufted Ducks with fluffy ducklings in tow that disappear under the water to feed and pop up like corks beside their mothers.

Brown Hairstreaks are being seen regularly along the Roman Road when the weather is right. They are coming down to nectar on the brambles and the umbellifers when they can be extremely confiding. I was down there last Friday morning, before it got ridiculously hot. I was looking up into the crown of one of the “master” ash trees and having a chat with another county birder about what we have seen on the moor this year.

I was grumbling about not having seen a Spotted Flycatcher, when one landed exactly at the top of the tree I was looking at! It stayed for twenty seconds and was gone but I did get a picture albeit from a funny angle.

On Saturday between the two screens we spotted a very blue dragonfly although we followed it seldom settled long enough to get a proper look at. On Sunday morning I was more fortunate and manged to photograph two different individuals which have been identified as Southern Migrant Hawkers, male and female. The other records of this very rare species came from the track towards Oddington and were not seen on the reserve itself, so it was very satisfying to get it as a reserve record………..although I would rather have seen the Savi’s!